He was held in a concentration camp and executed weeks before the end of the war in Europe.

Christian Friedel (The White Ribbon) will play Elser, with Katharina Schüttler (Generation War) as his girlfriend Elsa and Burghart Klaussner (The White Ribbon) as Arthur Nebe, the head of the Criminal Police of the Reichssicherheitshauptamt.

Hirschbiegel's 2004 Downfall - which told the story of the last days of Hitler's life - was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar.

The director's most recent feature was the poorly received biopic Diana.